Maack, S., Dehne, P., Edler, J., Glaeser, B., Janssen, G., Janssen, H., Knippschild, R., Schabelon, H., Scheibe, R., Schernewski, Sekscinska, A., Stybel, N.. Erfahrungen und Empfehlungen zur transdisziplinären Projektarbeit - Evaluation des Projektes IKZM-Oder. (Experiences of and recommendations for transdisciplinary reseach in the Oder Estuary.) In: Schernewski, G., Janßen, H., Schumacher, S. (eds.). Coastal Change in the southern Baltic Sea Region. Coastline Reports (12), pp. 123-142. EUCC - The Coastal Union, Leiden, 2009.

Coastal research projects increasingly require inter- and transdisciplinary approaches. Inter- and transdisciplinarity approaches pose high demands on all actors involved. However, criteria for quality assurance in inter- and transdisciplinary projects are still under development. In order to discuss and further develop quality criteria, practical project experience needs to be taken into account. In this article, a transdisciplinary coastal research project was evaluated with respect to communication and coordination practice. This article aims at: (a) documenting good practice measures applied in a long-term national reference project for ICZM and (b) deriving recommendations from a discussion of the results against the background of common research project practice. The project ICZM-Oder (Research for an integrated coastal zone management in the Oder estuary region) was one out of the two German reference projects for ICZM in Germany financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The overall project period (2004-2010) was divided into three separate phases one of one, two, and one of three years duration. The project team consisted of 27 core scientists from eleven organisations (institutes, companies, and NGOs).

The focus of the analysis was set on the structures introduced within the project to support these processes. The results of the project team survey can be summed up as follows: Within administrative communication and coordination, an innovative web tool as well as different reporting media were evaluated. The administrative web tool developed for the project allowed different groups (project team, regional stakeholders, observers and others) to access project information at different levels. The tool included a dynamic deliverables list which was used for electronic reporting. The tool was evaluated as “supportive” by the project team. For coordinated reporting, two publication series were launched: the digital report series IKZMOder Berichte which exclusively published results from the project and the print and online journal Coastline Reports which publishes results from coastal and marine research projects and conferences. Both media were very positively evaluated.Within

Within the regional communication and coordination, three project specific structures were evaluated, namely the steering committee consisting of 13 regional stakeholders, the regional transfer office and the coastal information system Oder estuary. Each of these structures were evaluated to be supportive for information transfer to the region, but less supportive for information transfer from the region to the project.

The main outcomes of the discussion of results include both good practice and recommendation aspects:

�� Project reporting can be minimised in effort and maximised in effectivity by applying purely electronic reports as demonstrated in this project.

�� Transparency among all parties involved in a project can be facilitated by online dynamic deliverable lists as demonstrated in this project.

�� Scientific reporting in transdiciplinary projects results shall make all project results publically available as demonstrated in this project.

�� Scientific reporting shall cover different levels of scientific excellence. The reporting media introduced in this project (IKZM-Oder Berichte and Coastline Reports) are good practice examples.

�� As to regional communication and coordination structures, no final recommendation can be made. The approaches demonstrated in this project can serve as examples, but need adaptation.

�� Technical project coordination structures need to be slender and constrained to the immediate necessities. For consistent use they need to be set up in a way that allows for additional benefits next to mere project coordination (e.g. to support reporting by automated information extraction, coupling with dissemination tools such as public data bases). The approach applied in this project can serve as an example but needs slight reductions.

�� In project calls, not only the project applicants but also the financing body needs to be more aware of the high demands posed by inter- and transdisciplinary research and take them into consideration when setting up call formulations and procedures.

�� The goal of an inter-/transdisciplinary research project call must be stated clearly (the sort of knowledge to be generated, degree of second level, practice integration) from the side of the financing body.

�� For the conceptual phase of an inter-/transdisciplinary research project, the necessary resources (time, financing, man power) must be taken into account (call deadlines, refunding of preparation costs). Quality criteria for inter-/transdisciplinary research calls must be precise and transparent.